Stanchion Fork Scratch

After an episode of sheer incompetence on my part….

I now have a vertical scratch on the fork stanchions. This appears to have penetrated the anti-friction coating but not into the alloy stanchion itself.

1st question – Does this actually matter?
2nd question – If worth repairing how?

Thanks!

Nail polish and very fine wet and dry if you are particularly concerned.

I’ve scratched my stantion down to the metal, felt rough as ****.

As above, nail polish and 1500 wet n dry paper, use it wet. It’s such a good job, if you close your eyes and run your finger or nail across the scratch you cannot feel it!

I’ve heard that Araldite is better, but I find that stuff soo messy/stringy!

Great! I’ll have a rummage through the bathroom …thye Mrs must have some.

(the nail polish that is!)

At the end of the day if the fork is not seeping oil through the damaged area i would’t worry too much.

If it has burred or sharp edges rub with the back of a desert spoon

If it’s not leaking… do nothing. You’re more likely to cause more damage by trying to fix it.

if you are repairing a scratch us suspension oil on the wet and dry – works great.

I did nothing to mine and it has done nothing at all as they dont leak

it is a tiny scratch on my Pikes and when I change the oil there is not grit or crap in there

IME we worry too much about this when it will make negligible difference

Do the nail varnish thing if you want

Surely the outside of the stanchion is just the bit that keeps the dirt and water out? The important part is hidden inside.

Surely the outside of the stanchion is just the bit that keeps the dirt and water out?

Well, it’s the seals that do the work. A scratch means a gap forms between the seal and the stanchion which can be a problem if oil starts leaking (not sure about air forks?). Either way, if they still function ok and there’s no obvious signs of leakage I’d just ignore it.

I’d fix it personally, if any water gets in the fork its bad times.

I ve done the same to mine used abit of the rusty/brown coloured scotchbrite to de-burr the scratch, the top seals ought to be tight enough to prevent too much ingress of water and crap, will keep a closer eye on the oil colour during oil changes, cant really do much else.

This happened on my shock and resulted in the shock becoming “cavitated”

Dirt and air drawn in and mixed with the oil solidified the oil over time

then I have a £180 repair bill from Mojo but its now upgraded and Kashima’d so not all bad!

Now have the same on my Recons but LBS say it will have no affect even the rough edges.

All depends if your anal and dont want to see the mark there!!

Fairly light damage so I’m minded to let it lie and see how things go. No oil leaks so far!